More bodies found in Nepal avalanche area

As the death in Nepal’s worst-ever trekking disaster touches 39, 289 people have been rescued from the mountain ranges

Kathmandu: At least 39 climbers died while hiking on a key Nepali route after it was hit by major snowstorms and avalanches earlier this week, said officials.

Nepalese, Indian, Israeli, Canadian, Slovak and Polish trekkers are among the dead. In the light of fears that more bodies lie beneath the snow, rescuers are using helicopters to look for missing trekkers in the Himalayas.

Rescue team members carry a victim of an avalanche before they airlift the body from Thorong La pass area in Nepal. PIC/AP

A total of 289 people have been rescued from the mountain ranges in what is Nepal’s worst-ever trekking disaster.A government spokesperson said the priority was to rescue stranded people.

“Helicopters are scouring snowy areas as high as 5,790m (19,000ft),” a tourism ministry official said.

The rescue operations are complicated because there are thousands of climbers in Nepal at this time of the year.Rescuers have only limited resources and most of the missing and dead are believed to be at the maximum heights that helicopters cannot reach.